Faith on Trial on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and on IowaCatholicRadio.com, examines the influence of law and society on Christianity and people of faith. "Like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Next Monday the U. S. Supreme Court will end its session
with a momentous decision in theHobby
Lobby case [Sebelius
v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.; Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius].It has already decided that the Massachusetts law that created 35-foot no-entry – or buffer – zones around
the entrances of abortion clinics was unconstitutional [McCullen v. Coakley].

To discuss these
cases we’re welcoming back one of our favorite guests, Dana Cody, president and executive director of Life legal Defense Foundation.Join Dana, Deacon Mike
Manno, and Gina Noll as we discuss these important decisions for people of
faith.Tuesday at 9 a.m. CDT on Iowa
Catholic Radio 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming on
IowaCatholicRadio.com.The program will
be re-broadcast at 9 p.m.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

In
a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court today struck down a 2007 Massachusetts
law that created 35-foot no-entry zones around the entrances and driveways of
abortion clinics in that state. The law made it a crime to “enter or remain”
within the zone, unless one fell under one of the four exemptions for patients,
clinic employees, public safety officials, and persons passing through the zone
without stopping.

Dana Cody

The
Court affirmed the time-honored nature of public streets and sidewalks as
public fora, and held that the Massachusetts law was not narrowly tailored to
meet the government’s asserted interests. The Court made clear that requiring
peaceful sidewalk counselors to remain 35 feet from their intended audience is
too burdensome of their rights, and is not justified by any evidence of
unlawfulness on the part of the pro-life speakers.

Chief
Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court with Justices Scalia and
Alito writing separate concurring opinions, in which they urged that the Court
might have gone farther in affirming and protecting free speech rights.

From
the majority opinion in McCullen v. Coakley: “The buffer zones burden
substantially more speech than necessary to achieve the Commonwealth’s asserted
interests.” The case was reversed and remanded back to the First Circuit for
further proceedings.

“We
are gratified that the Court saw how wrong the Massachusetts law is,” said Dana
Cody, president and executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation and a
frequent guest on Faith On Trial. “And while we wish the decision had
recognized the content-restrictions inherent in this type of law, this decision
is truly a victory for courageous, compassionate sidewalk counselors in
Massachusetts who have saved hundreds of lives through their quiet outreach
offering help and alternatives to women. The purpose of this law was to silence
the truth about abortion – it ends the lives of children and harms women. Roe
made abortion legal, not safe. With this ruling, pro-life speakers will be
enabled to share their life-affirming message.”

Alarmed by the concerted effort to remove God from every
vestige of government and to silence the voice of millions, CPCF is at the
center of a growing network of national, state

Lea Carawan

and local leaders who are
working together to restore, upgrade and popularize America’s founding spirit
and the principles related to faith and morality that shaped this Great
Republic.CPCF is mobilizing leaders and
citizens who are committed to promoting prayer, preserving our Judeo-Christian
heritage and protecting religious freedom for all.

In 2005, dozens of
Members of Congress stood on the steps of our nation's Capitol and gave an
historic call of prayer to America. They initiated an official "Call to
Prayer" as a proclamation to all people of faith as to the need to follow
the instruction of 2 Chronicles 7:14; to humble ourselves, seek His face, and
turn from our wicked ways that He may heal our land. Every week Members of
Congress, regardless of party affiliation, meet in Room 219 in the US Capitol
to pray for each other and for our nation.

Monday, June 16, 2014

This week’s guest on FOT will be Brian Clowes, PhD.He is
director of education and research at Human Life International (HLI). A West
Point graduate, Brian is a former A-Team leader for the Army Special Forces
(“Green Berets”), and holds a PhD in Civil Engineering and Systems Science.
Since 1995, he has been HLI’s director of research, and is the author of nine
books, over 90 scholarly and popular articles, and has traveled to 50 countries
on six continents as a pro-life speaker, educator and trainer.

Join
Deacon Mike Manno, co-host Gina Noll, and Brian as they discuss how abortion and
pro-choice violence is covered in the media. FOT is on Iowa Catholic Radio
every Tuesday at 9 a.m. and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. (CDT) on 1150 AM; 88.5 &
94.5 FM and streaming on IowaCatholicRadio.com.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Parents are fuming after eighth grade girls
were asked to publically state how far they would go sexually on a date.According to press reports, teachers in the
Woodland park Middle School in San Marcos, California school had the girls
stand under signs indicating their sexual activity.The signs read “smiled at,” “hugged,” “kissed,”
“above the waist,” “below the waist,” and “all the way.”

In a press statement the school defended the
class as “opening lines of communication between parents and students about
dating expectations.”

In the Pine Valley Middle School, in Pine
Valley, California, students were subjected to a slide show on sexual positions
and “conception myths.”One slide showed
a woman standing on a man with the message that being “on top” will not prevent
pregnancy; another showed a man with bloody hands with the message, “A real man
loves his woman every day of the month.”

One wonders where this generation of
“educators” comes from. The moral of this story: Watch closely what is
happening to your children in school.

The Chicago-based Thomas More Society filed a brief last week in the Michigan Court of Appeals, challenging a
personal protective order requiring a pro-life sidewalk counselor to stay at
least 500 feet away from a Detroit abortion clinic. Chris Coatney advocates the
sanctity of life outside of the Summit Women’s Center, where he speaks with
abortion-bound women and couples in an effort to save their babies. The order
was entered after Denise Burrell, the manager of the inner city abortion
clinic, claimed that Coatney’s speech was threatening and that she was afraid
of him. This assertion was made despite video evidence showing Burrell and
colleagues threatening and abusing Coatney.

“This is a gross abuse of Michigan’s
stalking law to suppress the free speech of a peaceful, persuasive sidewalk
counseling veteran,” said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the
Thomas More Society. “Mr. Coatney presented video evidence proving that the
claims against him are utterly false. We are confident that our appeal will
free Coatney from this

Tom Brejch

gag order, so that he may continue his peaceful efforts
to speak the message of life with vigor and eloquence to abortion-bound women.”

Under the current personal
protective order, Coatney is required to stay at least 500 feet away from the
abortion clinic. This prohibits him from participating in sidewalk counseling
or otherwise communicating with abortion clinic patrons, which is something he
had done every day at the abortion clinic for several years.

Contrary to the claims of the
abortion facility manager, video evidence shows that Coatney has been harassed,
even assaulted, by the clinic employees and their associates on multiple
occasions:

In July 2010, relatives of facility manager Burrell
tore the pro-life signs off of Coatney’s van and ripped them up.

Three months later, in October, as Coatney drove away
from the Summit Women’s Center abortion facility after sidewalk
counseling, Burrell got in her vehicle and followed him. He stopped at the
gas station in an attempt to distance himself from Burrell who dogged him
and did not stop until Coatney drove to a police station.

Later, Coatney was physically assaulted by two clinic
patrons. Upon exiting the clinic, they knocked him to the ground and
grabbed both his cameras. Coatney righted himself and did not fight
back. Inexplicably, this event was cited by the complainant and her
lawyer as proof of why Burrell was so afraid of Coatney, namely, that he
didn't even fight back when knocked down.

Patrick T. Gillen, Thomas More
Society special counsel, explained, “The court entered a personal protective
order in violation of the plain language of Michigan’s stalking law and with
utter disregard for Mr. Coatney’s First Amendment rights. We are
confident that the Michigan Court of Appeals will reverse this egregious error
and set an important precedent governing the application of Michigan law that
will protect Mr. Coatney and other peaceful pro-life counselors.”

Coatney, a Detroit postal worker,
devotes his off-hours almost exclusively to his pro-life sidewalk counseling
advocacy, in order to save babies and their mothers from abortion. He invests
significant amounts of his own money to print signs and other pro-life
literature.

In a bizarre turn of
events, Gregory Luce found himself the target of harassing e-mails and phone
calls as a result of retaliation by Campbell, Wisconsin Chief of Police Timothy
Kelemen. Luce was targeted for retaliation after he spoke out against a city
ordinance which prohibits citizens from displaying the American flag and
wearing t-shirts that call for the impeachment of President Barack Obama on a
pedestrian highway overpass managed by the town.

Luce is a devout Catholic and member of the Tea Party. He opposes
President Obama on several issues, including the President’s stance on
abortion.

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in
Ann Arbor, MI, represents Mr. Luce in a federal lawsuit challenging the ordinance.
The lawsuit named the town as well as the chief and a police officer as
defendants. However, on Friday, June 6, 2014, TMLC attorneys filed an
amended complaint after an investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff’s
investigators revealed that Chief Kelemen used his police department and home
computers to sign Luce up for a series of unwanted solicitations including
solicitations from homosexual oriented pornography and dating websites.
Luce is a married, heterosexual man.

TMLC attorney Erin Mersino, a frequent FOT guest, who is the principal attorney
on the

TMLC Attorney Erin Mersino

case commented, “All citizens should be free to exercise their First
Amendment rights without fear of retaliation—especially retaliation at the
hands of individuals, such as the head of law enforcement, who hold so much
power in our communities.”

After initially denying any involvement in the harassment of Luce, the chief
ultimately admitted the harassment as an attempt to “get back at” Luce after
detectives told him they had traced the unwanted solicitations to his IP
addresses at the police department and his home. Detectives have referred their
investigation to the Monroe County District Attorney for criminal prosecution
under Wisconsin law. On the civil front, TMLC amended its complaint to
add counts of retaliation, invasion of privacy, and civil Identity Theft.

Chief Kelemen used Gregory Luce’s personal information, including home address,
telephone number and e-mail address, to create profiles and accounts on
numerous pornographic and dating websites featuring homosexual men, insurance
companies, and the “Obamacare” website healthcare.gov. The accounts created by
Kelemen resulted in Luce receiving approximately 15 phone calls in a single day
regarding the profiles made using his information.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Planned Parenthood
facilities in two southwest Iowa towns are shutting down. Thomas More
Society-Omaha confirmed that a sign hanging on the door at the Red Oak abortion
facility declares that the facility will be “consolidated” with another Iowa
Planned Parenthood, effective June 18, 2014. The notice of these closings comes
after months of prayer outside of these abortion clinics by dedicated pro-life
advocates.

“The closing of two
Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in Iowa is a great victory for life,”
said Thomas More Society-Omaha attorney Martin Cannon. “Credit goes to the
prayerful people of Red Oak and our listening God, but Thomas More Society
also had the honor of assisting these men and women. By clarifying the
existence of public property in front of the clinic, we were able to work with
the police of Red Oak to ensure that the people’s First Amendment rights to
assemble on public property were respected.”

The pro-life prayer
vigil and sidewalk counseling efforts at the Red Oak facility were jeopardized
during the Spring 2014 40 Days for Life campaign, when Planned Parenthood
challenged the right of pro-life advocates to stand on the grass parkway.
The abortion provider tried to have the praying crowd arrested and charged with
criminal trespassing, claiming that those praying were on private property.

Initially, the police
concurred with Planned Parenthood, but after intervention by Cannon and the Thomas
More Society-Omaha, the Red Oak city administrator verified the public right of
way. Legally equivalent to a public sidewalk, this is a “traditional public forum”
in the eyes of the law and constitutes a place where people have a First
Amendment right to assemble.

Many in the area
believe that the Planned Parenthood sites fell victim to the unrelenting
presence of those peacefully offering life-saving alternatives to
abortion. Regardless, the fact is that the Red Oak abortion facility and
its sister clinic in Creston, 40 miles down the same highway, are closing.

The Virginia Community College System consented to a court order that
prohibits it from enforcing unconstitutional speech policies and zones
challenged by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a student. The
policy changes affect all 23 of the system’s schools.

Under the new policy, students are no longer required to be part of a student
organization before they can speak in the open areas of campus. Also, student
free speech will no longer be limited to “free speech zones” designated by
college officials, and students will no longer be required to register with
their college four days in advance of engaging in free speech.

“Colleges should support--not censor--student speech. We commend the Virginia
Community College System for revising its speech policy to align with what a
marketplace of ideas should be,” said Litigation Staff Counsel Travis Barham.
“The revised policies respect the rights of all students, regardless of their
religious or political beliefs, to speak freely in the outdoor areas of campus,
and students no longer have to jump through unconstitutional hoops to exercise
the freedoms that the First Amendment protects.”

Last September, Thomas Nelson Community College prohibited Christian Parks from
expressing his Christian beliefs in a large courtyard of the college. An
officer from the college’s police department told him he must stop preaching
because the content of his speech might offend someone. School officials then
told Parks that his speech violated the Student Code of Conduct and VCCS
policies.

“The decision of one student to take a stand has brought about greater freedom
for students on 23 college campuses in Virginia,” added Senior Legal Counsel
David Hacker. “We hope this case motivates others to take similar stands so
that they and all Americans will be able to continue to benefit from the
constitutional freedoms we have inherited and enjoy every day.”

Friday, June 6, 2014

While
courts often make erroneous decisions, particularly in controversial,
politically-

Robert Muise

incorrect cases involving First Amendment freedoms, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s recent decision in the case of Captain Paul
Fields, the Tulsa police officer who was summarily punished for objecting on
religious grounds to an order mandating attendance at an Islamic proselytizing
event to be held at a local mosque, was particularly egregious.

On May 22, a three-judge panel of
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision
that the City of Tulsa and two of its senior police officials did not violate
the constitutional rights of Captain Paul Fields, a Tulsa Police officer who
was summarily punished for objecting to an order mandating attendance at an
Islamic proselytizing event held at a local mosque based on his religious
beliefs.

Robert Muise, Co-Founder and Senior
Counsel of the AFLC and lead counsel for Captain Fields in the case, will join
us next Tuesday on Faith On Trial on Iowa Catholic Radio.He is also representing Fr. Frank Pavone and
Priests For Life in their challenge to the Obama Administration’s HHS Mandate
that requires employers to provide contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs
to its employees.

Join Deacon Mike Manno and Gina Noll
as they discuss these and other legal issues of interest to people of faith
Tuesday at 9 a.m. (CDT) on Iowa Catholic Radio 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and
streaming on IowaCatholicRadio.com.The
program will be re-broadcast Tuesday evening at 9.

Monday, June 2, 2014

On
Faith On Trial this week we are going to discuss some of the legal and societal
roadblocks that are placed in front of pro-life pregnancy centers. Our guest
will be Thomas
A. Glessner, the founder and president of the National Institute of Family andLife Advocates (NIFLA), a public
interest law firm founded in 1993 which is committed to legal counsel and
training for pregnancy resource centers. NIFLA represents more than 1,300 pregnancy resource centers across
the nation including InnerVisions HealthCare in West Des Moines.

As
the CEO of NIFLA, Tom has
developed and implemented legal guidelines for pregnancy resource centers to
enable them to convert their operations into licensed medical clinics and
provide for abortion-minded clients’ medical services such as ultrasound.NIFLA
provides life-affirming pregnancy resource centers with legal counsel,
education, and training to enable them to avoid legal pitfalls in their
operations.

Tom
is listed in Who’s Who in American Law and is a member of the bar
associations for the United States Supreme Court, the State of Virginia and the
State of Washington. As such, he has filed several “friend of the court” briefs
in cases of major significance to the prolife movement in the United States Supreme
Court.

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Faith on Trial is where we examine the influence of law and society on Christianity. Here we will look at those cases and events that impinge on the rights of Christians to fully practice their faith. Join us every Tuesday morning at 9 or listen to our re-broadcast Tuesday evening at 9 (Central). The program can be heard on IowaCatholic Radio: 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming on iowacatholicradio.com. Host is Attorney and Deacon Mike Manno.